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Cousin Of Aaron Hernandez Pleads Not Guilty To Accessory Charge

A cousin of Aaron Hernandez pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that she helped the former New England Patriot and Bristol native conceal evidence related to the death of Odin Lloyd.

Tanya Singleton, 37, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit accessory after the fact to murder during her brief arraignment in Fall River, Mass. Superior Court. A judge ordered her held without bail until an Oct. 24 hearing, based on an agreement reached between the prosecution and the defense.

Singleton lived at 114 Lake Ave. in Bristol, and frequently opened her home to Hernandez's two alleged accomplices, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz. Both suspects returned to the residence after Lloyd's June 17 shooting death and have told authorities they discussed the shooting with Singleton. Prosecutors say she had knowledge of the murder when she drove with Wallace to Georgia the next week. From there, she purchased a Greyhound bus ticket for Hernandez's "right-hand man" to continue to Florida.

Wallace the night of Lloyd's death was using a cell phone registered in Singleton's name to communicate with Hernandez and the victim. That phone has not been recovered. Prosecutors say they believe he used a different number to communicate with Singleton while he evaded arrest before he eventually turned himself in to law enforcement.

Singleton also faces a criminal contempt charge, after she refused to testify before the grand jury probing Lloyd's death. She has been in Massachusetts custody since Aug. 1.

Wallace and Ortiz, who were seen on surveillance footage with Hernandez and the victim the night of his death, both are charged with accessory after the fact to murder. The former Patriot tight end has been held without bail since his late-June murder arrest, and is next scheduled to appear in court Oct. 9.